Nova Scotia’s VLT dead zone

Now-defunct My-Play, overall decline in use led to lack of machines on Eastern Shore

Video lottery terminals can no longer be found along a stretch of the Eastern Shore. (THE CHRONICLE HERALD / File)

Video lottery terminals dot the sleepiest parts of rural Nova Scotia. Bev Williams, a retired teacher, can find five of the gambling terminals within 400 metres of her Mount Uniacke home. A kilometre farther, there are more.

However, Williams discovered recently that there’s one stretch of Nova Scotia that has become VLT-free.

A combination of factors in the past few years appears to have led to the removal of all the machines between Porters Lake and Spanish Ship Bay, where VLTs are only available three nights a week.

Williams, who struggles with a gambling addiction, was killing time before a wedding recently when she did that two-hour drive, hoping to play. She said she was surprised but ultimately relieved to learn of the no-VLT zone.

“I wish they would be removed,” she said.

“I think the solution to my problem would be easier.”

Eastern Shore residents can point to various changes that led to the disappearance of the terminals, from provincial programs to local attitudes. They say the just-cancelled My-Play system has made a difference, though not for the reason its creators hoped.

Nova Scotians’ overall use of VLTs has recently declined, unlike in the other Atlantic provinces. VLT sales in Nova Scotia fell by $31 million in the last two years, cutting away nearly one-quarter of 2012’s total sales of $137 million.

The province’s effort to retire VLTs helped remove those on the Eastern Shore. The terminal or terminals at a Sheet Harbour convenience store were taken away when the store was sold.

VLTs are always removed from circulation when businesses close, said Liberal caucus spokesman Nick Cox. Attrition has removed 56 VLTs across the province since 2011 out of more than 2,000.

The machines can also be picked up at the request of a business owner, said Cox. That was how the Royal Canadian Legion in Sheet Harbour gave up its three VLTs about four or five years ago.

According to people who were involved with the legion then, the province exchanged the machines for some token cash and took them away. No official program like that was announced at the time, but several people said a buyback was arranged.

“They got rid of them because there wasn’t enough business,” said Jean Josey, whose husband was a vice-president at the legion. “They were getting a few, but not enough to employ a bartender and stuff to keep the doors open. There’s not that many gamblers in that area.”

When smoking was banned in the legion, people didn’t want to stay inside and gamble, and for various reasons, the terminals just never caught on, said Josey.

“A lot of people thought they shouldn’t have them. But they just decided on their own to take them out.”

At the Spanish Ship Bay legion, the next-closest VLT site, there’s still enough interest to keep them around, said bartender Wayne White. However, while he has seen lineups for the machines, interest has declined in recent years, especially since My-Play was introduced, he said.

My-Play is meant to promote responsible gambling by tracking each player’s time and allowing people to set limits, but that’s not why it cuts down on play, said White. His customers think “they’re being tracked” and that their odds are sabotaged, he said.

“There’s all kinds of conspiracy theories. I’ve one guy that comes in, gets a new (card) every night.”

Williams, who only began gambling after she retired 10 years ago, said addicts don’t set limits with My-Play, but they can be superstitious about it.

“These cards were everywhere. They’re on the floor of the tavern. They’re in the parking lots. And people often think they’re losing because of the card, the password that goes with the card.”

The provincial government announced Wednesday it was cancelling My-Play because evidence showed it was not helping problem gamblers.

The Atlantic Lottery Corp. tracks all VLT use and considers the Eastern Shore normal, considering its low population, said spokesman Craig Ennis.